BVN key to Nigeria’s financial crime fight, says NFIU Chief at high-level roundtable

The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigeria Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Hafsat Bakari, has underscored the transformative role of the Bank Verification Number (BVN) in combating financial crimes in Nigeria.

Speaking at the High-Level Roundtable on Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to Combat Financial Crimes in Abuja, Bakari described the BVN as central to the nation’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorism financing (CFT) frameworks.

The BVN initiative, launched through a collaboration between the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and commercial banks, assigns a unique biometric identifier to each bank customer. This identifier links all of a customer’s bank accounts, thereby enhancing monitoring and significantly reducing identity fraud.

“The BVN is a transformative tool that enhances transparency in financial transactions and strengthens our capacity to track fraudulent activities,” Bakari stated. She highlighted that this innovation demonstrates the potential of PPPs in driving systemic impact against financial crimes.

Bakari warned that financial crimes, often transnational in nature, exploit gaps in regulatory and enforcement frameworks. “These crimes erode economic integrity, threaten national and global security, and facilitate the proliferation of illicit goods and weapons, destabilizing entire regions,” she said.

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She emphasized that no single organization or country can combat financial crimes in isolation. “Stronger collaboration among stakeholders, both locally and internationally, is essential to share intelligence, align strategies, and counter financial crimes effectively,” Bakari added.

Bakari advocated for leveraging PPPs to pool resources, share actionable insights, and strengthen Nigeria’s participation in global financial crime prevention efforts. She also called for closer cooperation with international partners, including the London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG), which co-hosted the event.

The Minister of Interior, Olubunmi Ojo, also addressed the roundtable, emphasizing the importance of ensuring that investments are clean and aligned with societal development goals.

“Collaboration is crucial in fighting financial crime and fostering transparent investments,” Ojo said, calling for all PPPs to undergo scrutiny by the NFIU to prevent misappropriation of funds.

“We need investments that are traceable, transparent, and aligned with our national aspirations,” he added, urging government agencies to adopt a unified approach to financial crime prevention.

According to the Nigeria Inter-Bank Settlement System (NIBSS), 63.4 million BVNs were registered as of September 2024.

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While a single BVN can be linked to multiple accounts, the figure highlights a gap compared to the 231.1 million active bank accounts in the country as of July 2024.

A recent directive from the CBN requires all financial accounts, including those managed by fintech companies, to be linked to a BVN before they can become operational.

This policy ensures that account holders are properly identified and easily traceable in cases of fraudulent activity.

Financial experts have praised the BVN initiative as a critical tool in addressing systemic challenges in Nigeria’s financial ecosystem.

“The BVN has significantly improved the integrity of the banking system and made it harder for criminals to exploit identity loopholes,” said Dr. Femi Alade, a financial analyst.

However, some analysts highlighted the need for further public awareness and robust enforcement to bridge the gap between BVN registration and the total number of active accounts. “There’s still a significant portion of accounts without